A lottery talent that took a major fall because of health concerns. The Thunder made this mistake once in passing on DeJuan Blair. They aren’t doing it again as they’ve selected Perry Jones III.
He’s versatile, has a ton of length, is explosive, rebounds and runs the floor. Without the medical concerns, you’re talking a top 12 pick here. At 28, this is a dream selection.
(Note: Jones was medically red flagged before the draft with a meniscus issue.)
There were other players on the board worthy of looking at like Draymond Green, Jeff Taylor, Will Barton, Quincy Miller or Intentional Player X. I’m curious to know whether or not the Thunder expected to have this opportunity to even pick him.
Depending on the future of Serge Ibaka, OKC now has something in the bank. I liked the idea of an upperclassman with a chance to have an impact and there were certainly good players available that fit that mold. But I didn’t expect Jones to be there. He’ll probably sit on the end of the bench, travel between OKC and Tulsa all season long and be someone we don’t hear much about. Pretty much exactly what I thought the Thunder didn’t need.
Except this is took much talent to pass on. A low risk, very high reward pick. This one didn’t take much genius from Sam Presti. Because with Jones unexpectedly available here, it was a no-brainer.
they need to have perkins follow him around for three days before training camp, follow him to the grocery store, around his house, when he goes out, and have him push him around put a body on him and keep him from doing anything without having to fight back, then he'll be ready for the nba
http://www.dailythunder.com/2012/06/friday-bolts-6-29-12/
Yeah. I'm that guy now.
You can't teach 6'11 :).
@MisterJohnsonOKC somehow, brooks will mess that up though :( lol
@Legendary_dork True
There are obviously multiple ways to interpret this pick. 1) He's too go to pass up at #28. 2) We can let him develop for a year or 2 in the D-League and then he'll be ready to contribute when we need him. 3) We didn't need a guy to immediately fill in for Harden or Ibaka because Presti is so confident that we'll be able to sign them both. I would think for any player that goes in the late first round they've got to be excited. This guy might just get a ring next year for having his name on a guaranteed contract. Does it matter though how many games you're one of the 15 players on the Thunder's roster vs. being gone and on the 66er's roster? What is the minimum required to get the hardware if it's won?
Will the Summer league be streamed online? I watched it a few years ago on NBA TV, but I don't have that option anymore.
. Dante and Galante!
@alvarex The Magic streamed all games in the past. Looks like it's not known yet if they continue it.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1238229-orlando-summer-league-schedule-2012-dates-times-tv-info-and-more
@alvarex It was the year before last
Game highlights for Baylor vs KState at Big 12 tourney. He had 31 and 12 this game I think. I really don't know that he is a good focal point in an offense but he has the ability to hit a spot up jumper (which he will get plenty of in this offense). He obviously has the athletic ability and the size to be a solid NBA player. The question is, is he tough enough and willing to be physical and do the dirty work that a successful postman can do? He didn't do much of that at all at Baylor but how much of that is Scott Drew letting the players run the show and how much of that is just him not doing it? Is there any better group of big men to teach him to do the dirty work and to get the most out of his talents than Collison, Perkins and Aldrich? If anyone can make him tough and teach him to do the dirty work it's that group.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVxlXTZ-itQ
If Scott Brooks sits this guy for two years with only garbage time I'll kill someone. He needs to be told that rookies can contribute immediately even if they aren't lottery picks! (like Kawhi Leonard and Kenneth Faried)
@Marty_McFly321 Cole performed very well for the Heat in his rookie season. Even got some good playing time in the Finals.
@Thunderbuzzy @Marty_McFly321 Norris Cole had decent games early in the season but he had a pretty horrible rookie year. No better than Reggie Jackson at any rate, IMO.
@Marty_McFly321 @justin_mia @Thunderbuzzy He made a couple of wide open 3s....
@Marty_McFly321 @justin_mia @Thunderbuzzy 28th
@justin_mia @Thunderbuzzy When did they pick Norris Cole? Like late first round? All I remember is him helping put away the Thunder in the Finals. Pretty meaningful contribution if you ask me...
@justin_mia @Thunderbuzzy @Marty_McFly321 Until Brooks had KD guarding PG's
@Thunderbuzzy That's what I'm saying it's like we have some sort of fear of playing a rookie at all while other teams are getting meaningful contributions from theirs.
@Marty_McFly321 he'll get his minutes if he shows his worth it in Practice.
@MrRaysian You think Aldrich didn't work harder in practice than Nazr?
@okcjim @Marty_McFly321 @MrRaysian Agreed.
@Marty_McFly321 @MrRaysian Jones has a lot to prove before he's ready to get minutes on this team. He's not NBA ready. He's an NBA athlete but he's not an NBA ready big man right now.
@MrRaysian @Marty_McFly321 Thats what Colli said
Anyone think Lazar puts up fewer than 17 shots a game in summer league? Dude is going to chuck it.
@cemitten I sincerely hope not. I want to see Reggie come into his own and really control that team, Cole smashes every 3 minutes, PJ3 catching lobs, Lat Will catching more lobs, and Lazar cheering from the bench for some undrafted guy who we invite who comes in and kills it
@JimboSlice @cemitten
I like how you think. :)
@cemitten Only 10 days!
@cemitten I don't know why. It's not like his stock could get any higher!
So now the next question for me is where do Scott Machado and Kevin Jones go? And does Tu Holloway really end up going from a high guard prospect to never playing in the league in half a season?
@JimboSlice Wojnarowski: Undrafted Iona guard Scott Machado has Bobcats, Cavaliers, Hawks, Hornets, Raptors, Rockets calling for summer league, sources tell Y!
And also Ricardo Ratliffe. Can we plllleeease give this guy a shot? I see him being a lot better than just about any big taken in the second round this year
The Vorontsevich rumor can be put to bed now, right?
@diddoff I certainly wouldn't mind that
Hearing about Presti being at B. Beals practices and now PjIII practices is so amazing. I know it is his job, but man does it seem like he does more than the status quo for his position?
Isn't that what his scouts are for?
Presti is so awesome.
@Serge Iblocka presti plays chess while others play checkers.
1. I am so pumped we got PJIII and man if him and Reggie both pan out. WE have to draft picks with some crazy length and athletism than can be so amazingly benefical to this team.
2 Just thining.... .So, is Daily Thunder big time enough to have its own phone app? Do we have any app developers or have any sweet (pro-bono) connections to make an app for Daily Thunder?
Another bullet point from Darnell's Draft blog:
"With a starting five that is shaping up to include Reggie Jackson, Lazar Hayward, Latavious Williams, PJ3 and Cole Aldrich, the Thunder is quite likely to dominate the Orlando Summer League."
Oh, and....did I mention it yet? 10 days to Summer League.
@Barry Amenema i was gonna post that too :) good deal. that does sound scary good too
Just wondering how Jones will break the starting rotation:)
@OkcBaby
If Ibaka is not on the team any more.
@OkcBaby he wont, at least not with brooks coaching, but maynor, harden jones, collison will be a sick 2nd unit
@f5alcon @OkcBaby *Maynor, Harden, Jones, Collison, and Cole will hopefully be the second unit.
@areayewhy @f5alcon Cole might get bumped out:(
http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/221870/Harden_Received_Assurance_From_Thunder_That_He_Wouldnt_Be_Dealt
@JimboSlice Heard a rumor yesterday that some off-the-court issues have surfaced with Harden which have the Thunder concerned...which is what led to the talk about trading him for the #2 pick. Didn't hear what the concerns were exactly, but during the finals, I had wondered if James was partying after-hours and that was what led to his lackluster performance. Isn't he dating Lil Wayne's ex? Made me wonder if she might be getting James into situations he doesn't need to be in.
@JimboSlice DUH lol
quote from darnells blog that make me realize that presti is very thorough:
"Lots of questions about why PJ3 slipped so far. Those questions were posed to Presti and assistant GM Troy Weaver. And, again, it came back to the knee. “People probably had questions about medicals…I would think that maybe that had something to do with it,” said Weaver. “Maybe people didn’t do their homework as well. I’m not sure"
"Presti expressed a great deal of confidence in Jones’ knee. He said the team has done a lot of research and “felt very comfortable making this selection at 28.” “We looked at all the information that we had available, and we wouldn’t have selected him unless we felt comfortable with all the information,” Presti said."
that quote right there sums it up
@Legendary_dork “Maybe people didn’t do their homework as well. I’m not sure" sounds like a Russ quote
@diddoff @Legendary_dork no more questions for you, Bro
and also, for the ladies "Jones, according to Presti, is 6-10.25″ without shoes and has 4.5 percent body fat." lol